Majesty & Precious
Giving Tuesday 2025
We got as far as December in 2025 without taking in any foals, but then I read about Majesty and her baby, Precious, from Devil’s Garden. Our last saves on Giving Tuesday, they were being held in Alturas at the Double Devils Corral that works with the US Forest Service. Charlene reached out to us once before about Ford & Indy, and contacted us about two more:
A 19-year old mare with cataracts in both eyes. She has limited vision and relies on her foal (2025 Filly) to guide her. The filly does an outstanding job guiding her. I'd' love for them to remain together."
That's all we knew about them and we already loved them. I named this beautiful, regal mare Majesty for the grace she demonstrated under pressure. Totally blind, she was raising her baby with dignity and pride, but could be fierce to protect her. Her little girl was wise beyond her very young age and had taken on a great responsibility in a world that is so new to her. It must have been very scary and confusing, but she devotedly took care of her mother. The Giving Tuesday donations had started slowing down, but when donors learned about Majesty and Precious, they made it happen for them. It was the perfect way to close out this day of radical generosity.
As soon as Majesty and Precious were cleared to come to Skydog, Janelle and Koal went to pick them up. It’s hard to go to the corrals and witness the conditions and sadness of wild horses in holding. Taking just a few and having to leave so many behind always haunts us.
Christmas came early for all of us when this deserving mother and babe were released into a peaceful area with trees, the scents and sounds of nature, which helped them calm down. When they relaxed and felt safe, Precious began to nurse with Janelle standing nearby. Then we turned them out in the baby pen where Majesty had maternal donkey companions and Precious had Marcie Marshmallow, Forest, and Pepper for playmates. Majesty encouraged her little girl to play and eat with the others, but Precious always returned to her mother.
It turned out Majesty was pregnant and we made sure she received pre-natal nutrition. As her belly expanded, she started weaning Precious. She stopped allowing her to eat with her, so she could keep more calories for herself, knowing that she needed build up her strength for birth. It was a little sad for followers to see loyal little Precious pushed away at meals, but mother and daughter spent the rest of their time together.
In late May, Janelle noticed Majesty and Precious standing at the top of a hill. When they came down together for breakfast, she went up to take a look. There was Fergus, a premature foal, unable to stand or nurse, even with help. Mares have an incredible way of knowing. In the wild, newborns that cannot stand and move with their families endanger the whole band, so mothers leave them behind. Majesty knew instinctively he would not survive. She came back a few times to check on him, but left when she found nothing had changed.
Janelle called me, Koal scooped him up, put him in the truck, and they rushed wee Fergus to our vets at Bend Equine for emergency care. We were afraid he would not survive the night, but four days later he was standing on his own, drinking milk replacement from a bowl, and taking his first wobbly steps. He has more intensive care ahead of him, but everything is moving in the right direction.
Due to Majesty’s blindness and her deep bond with Precious, she would have panicked if we’d tried to take her to the vet clinic. She is present, calm at Skydog, not crying or pacing, which is a huge relief to us all. Precious, who is now sporting her roan colors, has started nursing again and that comforts them both.
We are bringing Priscilla in to see if she is willing to become a nurse mother to Fergus the way she was so wonderfully to Shasta. Once they’re out of the hospital in a few weeks, we will be able to at least introduce them and see if we can create a situation where Majesty is an auntie or friend. We will do our best and take our cues from the horses, who have an infinite and unique knowledge we can only dream of.
Majesty & Precious currently have sponsors
By committing annually to a $100/month sponsorship of a mustang or burro, you help us enormously by supporting our existing rescues so we can continue saving more. To learn more about becoming a sponsor and see which animals need them:
American Mustangs and Burros Need Your Help
In addition to supporting our work by donating, becoming a patron on Patreon, or sponsoring a Skydog, there are several important pieces of legislation to protect American equines currently moving through Congress. It only takes a few minutes to contact your Rep and two Senators to urge them to support these bills. You can Contact Members of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121, submitting contact forms on their individual websites, or sending one email to all three simultaneously at www.democracy.io
Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act of 2025 (H.R.1661 in the House and S.775 in the Senate). This bill would amend the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, commonly known as the “Farm Bill”. There are several important provisions for animals in that omnibus federal law, including the Cat and Dog Meat Trade Prohibition Act. It is currently illegal to slaughter, transport, possess, purchase, sell, or donate dogs and cats, or their parts, for human consumption. The SAFE Act would extend the ban to equines and shut down the slaughter pipeline that sends some 20,000 American horses and donkeys to savagely monstrous deaths in foreign slaughterhouses every year.
The Wild Horse & Burro Protection Act of 2023 (H. R. 4356) The bill would eliminate the use of helicopters in rounding up wild horses and burros, and require a study into alternative methods for humanely gathering the animals.
Ejiao Act of 2025 (H.R. 5544). To ban the sale or transportation of ejiao, a gelatin made from boiling donkey skins, or products containing ejiao in interstate or foreign commerce, which brutally kills millions of donkeys primarily for beauty products and Chinese medicine.
See our How to Help menu for other actions to ban zebra hunting at canned hunt ranches in Texas & Oklahoma, bringing an end to the BLM using Sale Authority to funnel wild equines into the slaughter pipeline, and stopping production of Premarin & other drugs made from pregnant mare urine.